by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

Now that everyone is buzzing about Susan Rice's decision to withdraw from consideration as secretary of State, there's a quote from Sen. Scott Brown's farewell speech that will get parsed quite a bit in coming days.

Why? Because Sen. John Kerry is emerging as a top contender for the Cabinet post and if he leaves the Senate that would give Brown, who was defeated last month, an opening to return.

"As I've said many times before, victory and defeat is temporary," Brown, a Republican, said Wednesday. "Depending on what happens, and where we go, all of us, we may obviously meet again, but I'm looking forward to continuing on with those friendships, and with continuing on working with my staff."

A week after Democrat Elizabeth Warren defeated Brown, the moderate Republican declined to engage in speculation about running for the Senate again. There's still no vacancy in Massachusetts, but like many things in politics the news about Susan Rice on Thursday is just one domino that has fallen.

Brown became an instant GOP star when he won a special election in January 2010 to replace Democrat Edward Kennedy, who died the previous summer. Three races for the Senate in the span of three years is a lot - especially when you consider that Brown vs. Warren was a costly battle.

There's another possibility for Brown: The Massachusetts governor's race in 2014. Gov. Deval Patrick has said he won't seek a third term - and there's already a Facebook page titled Governor Scott Brown 2014.